US20190186004A1 - Film Formation Apparatus - Google Patents
Film Formation Apparatus Download PDFInfo
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- US20190186004A1 US20190186004A1 US16/225,788 US201816225788A US2019186004A1 US 20190186004 A1 US20190186004 A1 US 20190186004A1 US 201816225788 A US201816225788 A US 201816225788A US 2019186004 A1 US2019186004 A1 US 2019186004A1
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- Prior art keywords
- driving gear
- rotary table
- driven gear
- film formation
- gear
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- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
- C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
- C23C16/00—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes
- C23C16/44—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the method of coating
- C23C16/455—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the method of coating characterised by the method used for introducing gases into reaction chamber or for modifying gas flows in reaction chamber
- C23C16/45523—Pulsed gas flow or change of composition over time
- C23C16/45525—Atomic layer deposition [ALD]
- C23C16/45544—Atomic layer deposition [ALD] characterized by the apparatus
- C23C16/45546—Atomic layer deposition [ALD] characterized by the apparatus specially adapted for a substrate stack in the ALD reactor
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- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
- C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
- C23C14/00—Coating by vacuum evaporation, by sputtering or by ion implantation of the coating forming material
- C23C14/22—Coating by vacuum evaporation, by sputtering or by ion implantation of the coating forming material characterised by the process of coating
- C23C14/54—Controlling or regulating the coating process
- C23C14/541—Heating or cooling of the substrates
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- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
- C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
- C23C16/00—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes
- C23C16/44—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the method of coating
- C23C16/455—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the method of coating characterised by the method used for introducing gases into reaction chamber or for modifying gas flows in reaction chamber
- C23C16/45523—Pulsed gas flow or change of composition over time
- C23C16/45525—Atomic layer deposition [ALD]
- C23C16/45544—Atomic layer deposition [ALD] characterized by the apparatus
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- C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
- C23C16/00—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes
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- C23C16/455—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the method of coating characterised by the method used for introducing gases into reaction chamber or for modifying gas flows in reaction chamber
- C23C16/45523—Pulsed gas flow or change of composition over time
- C23C16/45525—Atomic layer deposition [ALD]
- C23C16/45544—Atomic layer deposition [ALD] characterized by the apparatus
- C23C16/45548—Atomic layer deposition [ALD] characterized by the apparatus having arrangements for gas injection at different locations of the reactor for each ALD half-reaction
- C23C16/45551—Atomic layer deposition [ALD] characterized by the apparatus having arrangements for gas injection at different locations of the reactor for each ALD half-reaction for relative movement of the substrate and the gas injectors or half-reaction reactor compartments
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- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
- C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
- C23C16/00—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes
- C23C16/44—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the method of coating
- C23C16/455—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the method of coating characterised by the method used for introducing gases into reaction chamber or for modifying gas flows in reaction chamber
- C23C16/45563—Gas nozzles
- C23C16/45578—Elongated nozzles, tubes with holes
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- C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
- C23C16/00—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes
- C23C16/44—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the method of coating
- C23C16/458—Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes characterised by the method of coating characterised by the method used for supporting substrates in the reaction chamber
- C23C16/4582—Rigid and flat substrates, e.g. plates or discs
- C23C16/4583—Rigid and flat substrates, e.g. plates or discs the substrate being supported substantially horizontally
- C23C16/4584—Rigid and flat substrates, e.g. plates or discs the substrate being supported substantially horizontally the substrate being rotated
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- H01L21/02107—Forming insulating materials on a substrate
- H01L21/02225—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the process for the formation of the insulating layer
- H01L21/0226—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the process for the formation of the insulating layer formation by a deposition process
- H01L21/02263—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the process for the formation of the insulating layer formation by a deposition process deposition from the gas or vapour phase
- H01L21/02271—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the process for the formation of the insulating layer formation by a deposition process deposition from the gas or vapour phase deposition by decomposition or reaction of gaseous or vapour phase compounds, i.e. chemical vapour deposition
- H01L21/0228—Forming insulating materials on a substrate characterised by the process for the formation of the insulating layer formation by a deposition process deposition from the gas or vapour phase deposition by decomposition or reaction of gaseous or vapour phase compounds, i.e. chemical vapour deposition deposition by cyclic CVD, e.g. ALD, ALE, pulsed CVD
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Definitions
- the present disclosure relates to a technique for performing a film formation processing of a substrate while causing the substrate placed on one surface side of a rotary table to revolve.
- Atomic Layer Deposition is performed in order to form various films for forming an etching mask or the like on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as a “wafer”) which is a circular substrate.
- the ALD may be performed by an apparatus that rotates a rotary table, on which a plurality of wafers are placed, so as to revolve each wafer such that each wafer repeatedly passes through processing gas supply regions disposed to follow the diametric direction of the rotary table.
- the apparatus includes a magnetic gear mechanism including a driven gear composed of a permanent magnet connected to the mounting table and a driving gear composed of a permanent magnet facing the revolution orbit of the driven gear such that a wafer is caused to spin by the action of a magnetic force between the driving gear and the driven gear. Since an example of this apparatus will be described in detail in the embodiments of the present disclosure, a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.
- the magnetic force of the permanent magnets cannot be freely changed, and the permanent magnets are demagnetized depending on an ambient temperature. Therefore, there is a concern that the spinning state of the wafer may be affected by the processing temperature of the wafer.
- the load on each part supporting the driven gear is increased by the magnetic force.
- an aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a technique for ensuring that, in performing film formation by supplying a film formation gas to a substrate which is placed on a rotary table to revolve, the substrate is reliably spun, and for suppressing a load applied to each part of the apparatus by a mechanism for performing the spinning.
- a film formation apparatus including: a rotary table provided in a processing container; a mounting table configured to mount a substrate on one surface of the rotary table and revolved by rotation of the rotary table; a heating part configured to heat the substrate mounted on the mounting table; a film formation gas supply part configured to supply a film formation gas to a region through which the mounting table passes by the rotation of the rotary table so as to form a film on the substrate; a spinning shaft rotatably provided on a portion rotating together with the rotary table so as to support the mounting table; a driven gear provided on the spinning shaft; a driving gear configured to rotate while facing a revolution orbit of the driven gear and provided along an entire circumference of the revolution orbit so as to constitute a magnetic gear mechanism with the driven gear, and a relative-distance-changing mechanism configured to change a relative distance between the revolution orbit of the driven gear and the driving gear.
- FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a film formation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the film formation apparatus.
- FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a rotary table provided in the film formation apparatus.
- FIG. 4 is a bottom view schematically illustrating a driven gear provided on a lower surface of a mounting table.
- FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating a part of a driven gear and a driving gear.
- FIG. 6 is a plan view schematically illustrating a driven gear and a driving gear.
- FIG. 7 is a plan view schematically illustrating a driven gear and a driving gear.
- FIG. 8 is a characteristic diagram illustrating a relationship between a velocity difference between an angular velocity of a driven gear and an angular velocity of a driving gear and a spinning velocity of the driven gear.
- FIG. 9 is an explanatory illustrating raising and lowering of a driving gear.
- FIG. 10 is a configuration view illustrating an example of a controller provided in a film formation apparatus.
- FIG. 11 is an explanatory view illustrating an operation of the film formation apparatus.
- FIG. 12 is a graph representing a result of an evaluation experiment.
- FIG. 13 is a graph representing a result of an evaluation experiment.
- FIG. 14 is a graph representing a result of an evaluation experiment.
- FIG. 15 is a graph representing a result of an evaluation experiment.
- a film formation apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to a vertical cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 and a horizontal cross-sectional view of FIG. 2 .
- the film formation apparatus 1 is configured to perform ALD in which a raw material gas containing silicon (Si) and an oxidizing gas are sequentially and repeatedly supplied to a wafer W placed on a rotary table (described later) to be revolved, so that the raw material gas and the oxidizing gas react with each other to form a silicon oxide (SiO 2 ) film.
- the film formation apparatus 1 includes a vacuum container 11 which is a flat processing container having a substantially circular shape in a plan view.
- the vacuum container 11 includes a container body 13 forming a side wall and a bottom portion of the container, and a ceiling plate 12 .
- reference numeral 2 denotes the above-mentioned rotary table provided in the vacuum container 11 .
- the rotary table is formed in a horizontal disk shape.
- a rotary shaft 21 extending vertically downward is connected to the central portion of the rotary table 2 .
- the rotary shaft 21 passes through a bearing part 22 provided in a bottom portion 14 of the container body 13 and is connected to a revolution rotary mechanism 23 provided outside the vacuum container 11 .
- the revolution rotary mechanism 23 the rotary table 2 is rotated, for example, clockwise in a plan view.
- the bottom portion 14 of the container body 13 is provided with an annular slit 24 , when viewed in a plan view, which penetrates the bottom portion 14 in the thickness direction thereof so as to surround the rotary shaft 21 .
- a space formation portion 15 which is annular in a plan view and has a recess shape in a vertical cross section, is provided below the bottom portion 14 , and the space in the recess part is partitioned from the outside of the vacuum container 11 and is evacuated by exhaust ports 36 and 37 (described later) during a film formation processing so as to be in a vacuum atmosphere.
- a horizontal-supporting annular plate 25 is provided in the driven-gear-moving space 16 to be close to the bottom portion 14 of the container body 13 .
- the bottom portion of the space formation portion 15 is constituted by an annular horizontal plate, and this plate is used as a partition plate 17 .
- the partition plate 17 forming a partition member is made of a material that passes magnetic force lines formed between the driven gear 4 and the driving gear 5 (described later), for example, aluminum or SUS (stainless steel).
- the thickness H 1 of the partition plate 17 is, for example, 5 mm or less, more specifically, for example, 3 mm or less.
- reference numeral 18 denotes a coolant flow path provided in the side wall of the space formation portion 15 and the bottom portion 14 .
- FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the structure of the rotary table 2 and each part included in the rotary table 2 .
- Five spokes 26 extend from the upper end portion of the above-described bearing part 22 radially in a plan view, and the rotary table 2 is supported by the spokes 26 .
- the spokes 26 are made of, for example, Inconel (registered trademark), which is an alloy, so as to have high strength and high heat resistance.
- the distal end portions of the spokes 26 are bent so as to face the slit 24 in the container body 13 downwards, and are connected to the upper surface of the supporting annular plate 25 . Therefore, the supporting annular plate 25 is supported on the rotary shaft 21 by the spokes 26 .
- a mounting table 3 On the upper surface side (one surface side) of the rotary table 2 , there is provided a mounting table 3 , which is circular in a plan view and is revolved by the rotation of the rotary table 2 .
- five mounting tables 3 are provided in the rotation direction of the rotary table 2 .
- a recess part 31 for accommodating and holding a wafer W horizontally is formed on the upper surface of each mounting table 3 .
- a spinning shaft 32 supporting the mounting table 3 is provided so as to extend vertically downwards.
- Each spinning shaft 32 passes through the supporting annular plate 25 and also passes through one of five bearing units 33 (only four are illustrated in FIG. 3 ) provided to be supported on the lower surface of the supporting annular plate 25 .
- the position where the spinning shaft 32 passes through the supporting annular plate 25 is between the spokes 26 adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction of the supporting annular plate 25 . That is, on the supporting annular plate 25 , the spinning shafts 32 and the spokes 26 are alternately arranged.
- Each bearing unit 33 is provided with a bearing surrounding the spinning shaft 32 so as to rotatably support the spinning shaft 32 and a magnetic seal configure to prevent scattering of particles from the bearing.
- the spinning shaft 32 is provided to be capable of spinning on a portion rotating together with the rotary table 2 .
- the spinning shaft 32 is supported by the bearing unit 33 , and the bearing unit 33 is supported with respect to the rotary shaft 21 via the supporting annular plate 25 and the spoke 26 .
- a horizontal disk-shaped driven gear 4 is provided on the lower end portion of each spinning shaft 32 in the state in which the central axis thereof is aligned with the spinning shaft 32 . Therefore, the driven gear 4 is connected to the mounting table 3 via the spinning shaft 32 , and the driven gear 4 is revolved around the rotary shaft 21 of the rotary table 2 in the horizontal direction by the rotation of the rotary table 2 . Further, when the driven gear 4 is rotated in the circumferential direction, each mounting table 3 spins about the spinning shaft 32 .
- the distance H 2 between the driven gear 4 and the partition plate 17 illustrated in FIG. 1 is 1 mm, for example.
- FIG. 4 schematically illustrates the lower surface side of the driven gears 4 .
- a large number of permanent magnets are buried over the entire circumference in the rotation direction of the driven gear 4 .
- the description, “the permanent magnets are provided over the entire circumference” means that the region where the permanent magnets are provided is not a partial region when viewed in the rotation direction. Therefore, even if there is a gap between the permanent magnets adjacent in the rotation direction, the permanent magnets are provided over the entire circumference, and in this example, such a gap is provided.
- the N pole parts 41 and the S pole parts 42 are alternately disposed in the spinning direction (rotation direction) when the driven gear 4 is viewed from the lower surface side.
- the N pole parts 41 are indicated by hatching in the drawings so as to distinguish the N pole parts from the S pole parts 42 .
- the N pole parts 41 and the S pole parts 42 exposed on the lower surface of the driven gear 4 are each formed in the same rectangular shape, and are formed so as to radially extend horizontally from the central portion of the lower surface of the driven gear 4 .
- eighteen pole parts are arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction.
- the lengths of the N pole parts 41 and the S pole parts 42 are set to be, for example, shorter than the radius of the driven gear 4 so as not to exceed the center of the bottom surface of the driven gear 4 .
- the permanent magnets constituting the driven gear 4 and the permanent magnets constituting the driving gear 5 which will be described later, are made of, for example, samarium cobalt magnets.
- the driving gear 5 is disposed outside the vacuum container 11 (on the atmospheric atmosphere side) and below the space formation portion 15 .
- This driving gear 5 constitutes a magnetic gear mechanism 40 with the driven gears 4 .
- the driving gear 5 is a horizontal annular plate formed along the entire circumference of the revolution orbit of the driven gears 4 , and is provided so as to face the revolution orbit. Accordingly, the upper surface of the driving gear 5 faces the lower surfaces of the driven gears 4 .
- reference numeral 50 denotes a circular opening formed in the central portion of the driving gear 5 , and the center of the opening 50 coincides with the rotation center of the rotary table 2 in a plan view.
- a spinning rotary mechanism 53 including, for example, an annular Direct Driving motor (DD motor) for rotating the driving gear 5 is disposed so as to surround the rotary shaft 21 and the driving gear 5 is rotated about the center of the opening 50 by the spinning rotary mechanism 53 . Accordingly, the driving gear 5 rotates in the state of facing the revolution orbit of the driven gears 4 .
- DD motor annular Direct Driving motor
- the spinning rotary mechanism 53 is provided on a lifting base 54 , which is circular in a plan view and surrounds the rotating shaft, and the lifting base 54 is raised and lowered by a driving-gear-lifting mechanism 55 .
- reference numeral 56 denotes a horizontal floor plate, on which the driving-gear-lifting mechanism 55 is provided, and has an opening 57 through which the rotary shaft 21 passes.
- the driving gear 5 will be described in more detail. Permanent magnets are buried in the upper part of the driving gear 5 over the entire circumference of the driving gear 5 so as to face the outer peripheral edge portion of the revolution orbit of the driven gears 4 .
- the description “the permanent magnets are provided over the entire circumference” means that the area where the permanent magnets are provided when viewed in the rotation direction of the driving gear 5 is not a partial region, and does not mean that the permanent magnets are provided in the rotation direction without a gap therebetween. In this example, such a gap is provided between permanent magnets adjacent to each other in the rotation direction.
- the N pole parts 51 and the S pole parts 52 are alternately disposed in the rotation direction of the driving gear 5 when the driving gear 5 is viewed from the upper side.
- the N pole parts 51 are also hatched in the drawings like the N pole parts 41 of the driving gear 5 .
- FIG. 5 illustrates the magnetic pole parts (the N pole parts 41 and the S pole parts 42 ) of one driven gear 4 and the magnetic pole parts (the N pole parts 51 and the S pole parts 52 ) of the driving gear 5 provided below the driven gear 4 , which are associated with each other.
- the N pole parts 51 and the S pole parts 52 are formed in a rectangular shape so as to overlap the shape of the N pole parts 41 and the S pole parts 42 formed on the lower surface of the driven gear 4 .
- FIG. 5 illustrates the state in which the N pole parts 41 of the driven gear 4 and the S pole parts 52 of the driving gear 5 overlap each other. Since FIG. 5 and FIGS. 6 and 7 to be described later are schematic views for explaining the configuration of the magnetic gear, the number of the magnetic pole parts is different from the number of the magnetic pole parts in an actual device.
- FIG. 6 illustrates the state in which a part of five driven gears 4 is stopped facing the driving gear 5 in the state in which each of the rotary table 2 and the driving gear 5 is stopped (in the state in which they are not rotating).
- Each driven gear 4 is stopped at a position determined by the total action of the attractive force and the repulsive force between the respective magnetic pole parts (the N pole parts 41 and the S pole parts 42 ) of the driven gear 4 and the respective magnetic pole parts (the N pole parts 51 and the S pole parts 52 ) of the driving gear 5 .
- the mounting table 3 spins.
- the angular velocity Va of the driving gear 5 is larger than the angular velocity Vb of the driven gear 4 (when the velocity difference obtained by subtracting the angular velocity of the driven gear 4 from the angular velocity of the driving gear 5 is positive)
- the arrangement of the N pole parts 51 and the S pole parts 52 of the driving gear 5 moves from the left side to the right side in FIG.
- the velocity difference between the angular velocity resulting from the revolution of the driven gear 4 and the angular velocity of the driving gear 5 and the spinning velocity of the driven gear 4 maintain a substantially proportional relationship in a certain range in which a velocity difference is present as illustrated in FIG. 8 .
- the horizontal axis represents a velocity difference (Va ⁇ Vb) between the angular velocity Va of the driving gear 5 and the angular velocity Vb resulting from the revolution of the driven gear 4
- the vertical axis represents a spinning velocity of the driven gear 4 .
- the leftward spinning velocity increases as the velocity difference increases from 0 to ⁇ V2.
- the angular velocity of the driving gear 5 is set up to a value at which the velocity difference and the spinning velocity of the driven gear 4 maintain a substantially proportional relationship.
- the mounting table 3 spins when there is a difference in the number of rotations between the driving gear 5 and the rotary table 2 .
- the spinning velocity at this time is obtained by multiplying a difference in the rotation velocity by the gear ratio between the driving gear 5 and the driven gear 4 .
- the rotation velocity difference is a velocity difference between the angular velocity of the driving gear 5 and the angular velocity of the driven gear 4 (so-called revolution angular velocity) resulting from the rotation of the rotary table 2 .
- the relationship between the spinning velocity of the driven gear 4 and the velocity difference between the angular velocity (revolution velocity) resulting from the revolution of the driven gear 4 and the angular velocity of the driving gear 5 as illustrated in FIG. 8 is stored in the memory of the controller 100 .
- the user of the film formation apparatus 1 inputs the spinning velocity of the driven gear 4 and the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 from the input part 104 of the controller 100 , and based on the input parameters and the above-mentioned relationships stored in the memory, the number of revolutions of the driving gear 5 is determined, and the driving gear 5 can be rotated at the determined number of rotations.
- the driving gear 5 is raised and lowered by the driving-gear-lifting mechanism 55 , which is a relative-distance-changing mechanism, as illustrated in FIG. 9 .
- the separation distance H 3 is changed within a range of 1 mm to 5 mm, for example. The reason for configuring the apparatus such that the separation distance H 3 can be changed in this manner will be described.
- the driven gear 4 and the driving gear 5 are constituted by permanent magnets, and the permanent magnets are demagnetized depending on the ambient temperature.
- the driven gear 4 can spin at, for example, about a room temperature without any problem by the rotation of the driving gear 5 as described with reference to FIG. 7 .
- the processing temperature of the wafer W is set to be relatively high and thus the ambient temperature of the driven gear 4 and the driving gear 5 becomes relatively high, there is a possibility that the driven gear 4 will not spin due to the demagnetization.
- the centrifugal force applied to the spinning shaft 32 becomes larger, and the spinning shaft 32 presses a portion of the bearing forming an inner peripheral wall of the bearing unit 33 which is outermost in a radial direction from the center of the rotary table 2 , whereby the load applied to the portion is increased. That is, the minimum necessary torque for rotating the spinning shaft 32 varies depending on the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 .
- the magnetic force between the driven gear 4 and the driving gear 5 may be relatively strong so as to obtain the torque necessary for spinning even when the rotation velocity of the rotary table 2 is high.
- the magnetic pole parts (the N pole parts 51 and the S pole parts 52 ) of the driving gear 5 are provided to face the peripheral edge portion side of the revolution orbit of the driven gear 4 , the spinning shaft 32 presses the portion of the bearing of the bearing unit 33 that is outermost in a radial direction from the center of the rotary table 2 due to the action of the magnetic force, and thus the load on this portion is increased.
- Reference numeral C in the drawings denotes a central region formation part having a circular shape in a plan view and is provided in the central portion of the lower surface of the ceiling plate 12 of the vacuum container 11 .
- reference numeral 34 denotes protruding portions having a fan shape in a plan view and formed to be widened from the central region formation part C toward the outer side of the rotary table 2 . Two protruding portions are provided to be spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction of the rotary table 2 .
- the central region formation part C and the protruding portion 34 form a ceiling surface that is lower than the outer region thereof.
- a heater 35 is buried in the bottom portion 14 of the container body 13 to heat the wafer W.
- Exhaust ports 36 and 37 are opened outside the rotary table 2 in the bottom portion 14 , and are connected to a vacuum exhaust mechanism (not illustrated) constituted with a vacuum pump or the like.
- a loading/unloading part 39 of a wafer W which can be opened and closed by a gate valve 38 , is formed, in the side wall surface of the vacuum container 11 , and a substrate is transported into and out of the vacuum container 11 by a transport mechanism (not illustrated) via the loading/unloading part 39 .
- FIG. 1 illustrates only two lifting pins 20 for convenience.
- a through hole is formed in the bottom portion of the mounting table 3 so that the lifting pins 20 pass through the through holes so as to deliver the wafer W.
- the lower ends of the lifting pins 20 are configured not to interfere with, for example, the driving gear 5 , which is raised, lowered, and rotated, and are supported by an arm 27 , which can be raised and lowered by the lifting mechanism 28 .
- Reference numeral 29 in the drawings denotes a bellows that surrounds the lifting pins 20 and serves to maintain airtightness in the vacuum container 11 .
- a raw material gas nozzle 61 Above the rotary table 2 , a raw material gas nozzle 61 , a separation gas nozzle 62 , an oxidizing gas nozzle 63 , a modifying gas nozzle 64 , and a separation gas nozzle 65 are arranged in this order to be spaced apart from each other in the rotation direction of the rotary table 2 .
- Each of the gas nozzles 61 to 65 is formed in a rod shape that extends horizontally in the radial direction of the rotary table 2 toward the central portion from the side wall of the vacuum container 11 , and discharges various gases downwards from a plurality of discharge holes 66 formed to be spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction thereof.
- the raw material gas nozzle 61 discharges BisTertial ButylAmino Silane (BTBAS) gas as a raw material gas.
- Reference numeral 67 in the drawings denotes a nozzle cover that covers the raw material gas nozzle 61 , in which the nozzle cover serves to increase the concentration of the BTBAS gas in the region below the nozzle cover.
- the oxidizing gas nozzle 63 discharges ozone (O 3 ) gas as an oxidizing gas.
- the separation gas nozzles 62 and 65 discharge N 2 gas, and are disposed at positions of dividing the protruding portions 34 of the ceiling plate 12 in the circumferential direction in a plan view.
- the modifying gas nozzle 64 discharges a modifying gas composed of, for example, a mixed gas of argon (Ar) gas and oxygen (O 2 ) gas.
- a modifying gas composed of, for example, a mixed gas of argon (Ar) gas and oxygen (O 2 ) gas.
- the raw material gas, the oxidizing gas, and the modifying gas correspond to processing gases, respectively
- the raw material gas nozzle 61 , the oxidizing gas nozzle 63 , and the modifying gas nozzle 64 correspond to processing gas supply parts, respectively.
- FIG. 2 illustrates a position where the plasma formation part 7 is installed by a one-dot chain line.
- reference numeral 71 denotes a main body made of a dielectric material such as quartz
- reference numeral 72 in the drawing denotes a protrusion, which protrudes downward along the opening 19 on the lower surface of the main body 71 (see FIG. 1 ).
- the modifying gas is ejected from the modifying gas nozzle 64 into the region surrounded by the protrusion 72 .
- An antenna 75 in which a metal wire is wound in a coil shape, is provided on the upper surface side of the main body 71 with a Faraday shield 73 and an insulating plate member 74 being interposed therebetween, and a high-frequency power source 76 is connected to the antenna 75 .
- Reference numeral 77 in the drawing denotes a slit provided in the Faraday shield 73 , in which the slit serves to direct the magnetic field components of the electromagnetic field downwards.
- the region below the raw material gas nozzle 61 is an adsorption region R 1 where BTBAS gas is adsorbed, and the region below the oxidizing gas nozzle 63 is an oxidizing region R 2 where BTBAS gas is oxidized.
- the region below the plasma formation part 7 is a modifying region R 3 where a SiO 2 film is modified by plasma.
- the regions below the protruding portions 34 are separation regions D 1 and D 2 for separating the atmosphere of the adsorption region R 1 and the atmosphere of the oxidizing region R 2 from each other by N 2 gas ejected from each of the separation gas nozzles 62 and 65 .
- the exhaust port 36 is opened to the outside between the adsorption region R 1 and the separation region D 1 adjacent to the downstream side of the adsorption region R 1 in the rotation direction in order to exhaust excessive BTBAS gas.
- the exhaust port 37 is opened to the outside in the vicinity of the boundary between the modifying region R 3 and the separation region D 2 adjacent to the downstream side of the adsorption region R 3 in the rotation direction in order to exhaust excessive O 3 gas and the modifying gas. From the exhaust ports 36 and 37 , N 2 gas supplied from each of the respective separation regions D 1 and D 2 and the central region formation portion C of the rotary table 3 is also exhausted.
- the film formation apparatus 1 is provided with a controller 100 constituted with a computer so as to perform control of the operations of the entire apparatus.
- FIG. 10 illustrates the schematic configuration of the controller 100 .
- the controller 100 includes a CPU 101 , a program storage part 102 that stores a program 105 that executes an operation related to a film formation processing to be described later, a storage part 103 , and an input part 104 .
- Reference numeral 110 in the drawing denotes a bus.
- the storage part 103 stores the correspondence of the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 , the processing temperature of a wafer W, and the separation distance H 3 between the driving gear 5 and the driven gear 4 .
- the input part 104 is a device for inputting and setting the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 and the processing temperature of the wafer W at the time of film formation processing as a processing recipe of the film formation apparatus 1 by the user of the film formation apparatus 1 .
- the input part 104 is constituted with, for example, a touch panel.
- the separation distance H 3 corresponding to the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 and the processing temperature of the wafer W input as described above is read out from the storage part 103 and the height of the driving gear 5 is controlled by the driving-gear-lifting mechanism 55 to be the read-out separation distance H 3 . Then, the film formation processing is performed.
- FIG. 10 represents the separation distance H 3 values in the cases where the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 is 60 rpm, 70 rpm, and 80 rpm and the temperature of the wafer W is a1 degrees C., as b1 mm, c1 mm, and d1 mm, respectively, in which b1>c1>d1.
- FIG. 10 represents the separation distance H 3 values when the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 is 60 rpm and the temperature of the wafer W is a1 degree C., a2 degrees C., and a3 degrees C., as b1 mm, c1 mm, and d1 mm, respectively, in which a1 degree C. ⁇ a2 degree C. ⁇ a3 degree C. and b1>c1>d1.
- the program 105 transmits a control signal to each part of the film formation apparatus 1 to control the operation of each part, and includes a group of steps for executing a film formation processing to be described later.
- the number of revolutions of the driving gear 5 by the spinning rotary mechanism 53 the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 by the revolution rotary mechanism 23 , the raising and lowering of the driving gear 5 by the driving-gear-lifting mechanism 55 , the supply flow rate of each gas from each of the gas nozzles 61 to 65 , the processing temperature (heating temperature) of the wafer W by the heater 35 , the supply flow rate of N 2 gas from the central region formation part C, and the like are controlled according to the control signal.
- the program storage part 102 that stores the program 105 is configured by a storage medium such as a hard disk, a compact disk, a magneto-optical disk, a memory card, or a DVD, and the program 105 is installed in the controller 100 from the storage medium.
- a storage medium such as a hard disk, a compact disk, a magneto-optical disk, a memory card, or a DVD
- wafers W sequentially loaded from the outside into the vacuum container 11 by a transport mechanism (not illustrated) are delivered to the mounting tables 3 .
- the gate valve 38 is closed, and the interior of the vacuum container 11 is evacuated from the exhaust ports 36 and 37 so as to have a vacuum atmosphere of a predetermined pressure.
- N 2 gas is supplied to the rotary table 2 from the separation gas nozzles 62 and 65 and the central region formation part C. Meanwhile, the temperature of the heater 35 rises and the wafers W are heated so as to reach the set processing temperature.
- the rotary table 2 rotates at the set number of revolutions and, for example, the driving gear 5 is rotated at the same velocity as the rotary table 2 .
- the mounting table 3 revolves in the state in which the spinning thereof is stopped.
- the supply of respective gases from the raw material gas nozzle 61 , the oxidizing gas nozzle 63 , and the modifying gas nozzle 64 , and the formation of plasma by application of high-frequency waves to the antenna 75 from the high-frequency power source 76 are initiated.
- the number of revolutions of the driving gear 5 is changed to be different from the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 , and the mounting table 3 spins at a predetermined number of revolutions.
- a separation region D 2 to which N 2 gas is supplied, is also formed between the adsorption region R 1 and the modifying region R 3 , the raw material gas, the modifying gas supplied to the modifying region, and the oxidizing gas directed to the separation region D 2 from the upstream side in the rotation direction of the modifying region R 3 are exhausted from the exhaust ports 36 and 37 without being mixed with each other on the rotary table 2 .
- the N 2 gas supplied from the central region formation part C is also removed from the exhaust ports 36 and 37 .
- Each wafer W passes through the adsorption region R 1 , the oxidizing region R 2 , and the modifying region R 3 sequentially in the state where supply and exhaust of the respective gases are performed as described above.
- the adsorption region R 1 the BTBAS gas ejected from the raw material gas nozzle 61 is adsorbed to the wafers W, and in the oxidizing region R 2 , the adsorbed BTBAS gas is oxidized by O3 gas) supplied from the oxidizing gas nozzle 63 such that one or more molecular layers of SiO 2 are formed.
- the modifying region R 3 the molecular layer of SiO 2 is modified by being exposed to the plasma of the modifying gas.
- FIG. 11 illustrates the operation of each part of the film formation apparatus 1 when film formation is performed in this way.
- the spinning of wafers W is performed by rotation of the mounting tables 3 .
- the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 and the spinning velocity of the mounting tables 3 are set. That is, the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 and the spinning velocity of the mounting tables 3 are set such that, when the rotary table 2 is rotated once from a rotation start point in which each wafer W is oriented in a first direction, to be positioned again at the rotation start point, wafer W is oriented in a second direction different from the first direction.
- each mounting table 3 spins without being synchronized with the rotation of the rotary table 2 , the wafer W on each mounting table 3 passes through the adsorption region R 1 of the raw material gas in various directions by spinning and revolution thereof. In this way, with the spinning of the mounting tables 3 , a cycle of forming the above-mentioned molecular layer of SiO 2 is executed while gradually changing the direction in a plan view.
- the amount of the raw material gas adsorbed on the wafer W can be made uniform in the circumferential direction of the wafer W when viewed in the entire period in which a SiO 2 molecular layer formation cycle is performed a plurality of times by performing the film formation while changing the direction of the wafer W.
- the separation distance H 3 between the driven gears 4 and the driving gear 5 is adjusted by the driving-gear-lifting mechanism 55 , and the magnetic force between the driving gear 5 and the driven gears 4 is adjusted. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a strong magnetic force from constantly acting between the driving gear 5 and the driven gears 4 so as to suppress the load from being applied to each component in the rotary table 2 , the rotary shaft 21 , etc., whereby it is possible to secure the magnetic force required for each mounting table 3 to spin during the film formation processing while suppressing consumption, deformation, and breakage of each component.
- the separation distance H 3 is changed by raising and lowering the driving gear 5 with respect to the driven gears 4 and the unit for revolving the driven gears 4 .
- the separation distance H 3 may be changed by raising and lowering the driven gears 4 with respect to the driving gear 5 .
- the driven gears 4 can be raised and lowered with respect to the driving gear 5 .
- the correspondence relationship of the processing temperature of the wafers W, the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 , and the separation distance H 3 is stored in the storage part 103 of the controller 100 , but any one of the correspondence relationship between the processing temperature of the wafers W and the separation distance H 3 , and the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 and the separation distance H 3 may be stored. That is, the user of the film formation apparatus 1 may set one of the processing temperature of the wafers W and the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 , thereby setting the separation distance H 3 . It is not limited to changing the separation distance H 3 according to the processing recipe.
- the driving gear 5 when the above-described film formation processing is in the standby state without being performed, the driving gear 5 is positioned at a height position where the separation distance H 3 becomes relatively large, and when the film formation processing is performed, the driving gear 5 may be positioned at a preset height position where the separation distance H 3 is relatively small. That is, the case where the height of the driving gear 5 is uniform during respective film formation processings is also included in the scope of the present disclosure. However, in order to more reliably rotate the driven gears 4 and to suppress the load on each part of the film formation apparatus 1 , it is preferable to control the height of the driving gear 5 according to the processing recipe as described above.
- the revolution and spinning are performed in parallel with each other during film formation on the wafers W.
- the spinning of the wafers W includes intermittent spinning of the wafers W in addition to the continuous spinning of the wafer W during the rotation of the rotary table 2 .
- the timing of the start and stop of the spinning of the wafers W may be matched to the timing of the start and stop of revolution of the wafers W, and the timing of the start and stop between the spinning and revolution of the wafers W may be deviated.
- the driving gear 5 is provided in the ambient atmosphere in the examples described above, it may be provided in a vacuum atmosphere similarly to the driven gears 4 by configuring the vacuum container 11 to surround the driving gear 5 .
- the driven gears 4 may be configured to rotate in a contactless manner with respect to the driving gear 5 by the rotation of the driving gear 5 by the magnetic force. Accordingly, only one of the driven gears 4 and the driving gear 5 may be a magnetic body.
- the driven gears 4 or the driving gear 5 is not limited to the configuration in which the N pole parts and the S pole parts are alternately arranged, but may be constituted by only one of the S pole parts and the N pole parts.
- each magnetic pole part is not limited to the rectangular shape as in the example described above.
- Evaluation experiments which were performed in connection with the present disclosure, will be described.
- Evaluation Experiment 1 using an experimental apparatus having substantially the same configuration as that of the film formation apparatus 1 , the average of the spinning velocities of respective wafers W placed on the rotary table 2 was investigated in the case where the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 and the number of revolutions of the driving gear 5 were changed.
- the thickness H 1 of the partition plate 17 described in FIG. 1 was set to 3 mm
- the distance H 2 between the partition plate 17 and the lower surface of the driven gears 4 was set to 1 mm
- the distance between the partition plate 17 and the upper surface of the driving gear 5 was set to 1 mm.
- the separation distance H 3 between the driving gear 5 and the revolution orbit of the driven gears 4 described with reference to FIG. 9 was 5 mm.
- the rotary table 2 was rotated at 30 rpm, 60 rpm, or 120 rpm.
- the number of revolutions of the driving gear 5 was changed such that the difference between the number of revolutions of the driving gear 5 and the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 converged within the range of ⁇ 0.8 degrees/second to +0.8 degrees/second.
- the graphs of FIGS. 12, 13, and 14 are graphs representing the experiment results when the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 is 30 rpm, 60 rpm, and 120 rpm, respectively.
- the horizontal axis represents the number of revolutions (unit: rpm) of the driving gear 5
- the vertical axis represents the average spinning velocity (unit: degrees/minute) of wafers W.
- results for one wafer W among five wafers W on the rotary table 2 are represented. This is because the variation of the average spinning velocity of the five wafers W was substantially zero.
- the average spinning velocity of wafers W increases in proportion to the increase in the number of revolutions of the driving gear 5 regardless of whether the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 is 30 rpm, 60 rpm, or 120 rpm.
- the negative average spinning velocity and the positive average spinning velocity means that the wafers W spin in opposite directions.
- Evaluation Experiment 2 As in Evaluation Experiment 1, the average spinning velocities of respective wafers W placed on the rotary table 2 were measured in the case where the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 and the number of revolutions of the driving gear 5 were changed. However, as a difference, the separation distance H 3 (see FIG. 9 ) between the driving gear 5 and the revolution orbit of the driven gears 4 was set to 9 mm. The driving gear 5 was rotated such that the spinning velocity set for each wafer W (set spinning velocity) becomes +5 rpm to ⁇ 5 rpm. The number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 was set to 240 rpm, 210 rpm, 180 rpm, 150 rpm, 120 rpm, 90 rpm, 60 rpm, 30 rpm, and 2 rpm.
- the results obtained when the rotary table 2 was rotated at 240 rpm are represented in the graph of FIG. 15 as a representative.
- the vertical axis of the graph of FIG. 15 represents the average spinning velocity (unit: degrees/minute) of a wafer W similarly to the vertical axis of each of the graphs of FIGS. 12 to 14 .
- the horizontal axis of the graph of FIG. 15 represents the set average spinning velocity of the wafer W described above.
- the average spinning velocity of the wafer W is a value within the range of +180 degrees/min to ⁇ 180 degrees/min depending on the set spinning velocity, and the average spinning velocity of the wafer W increases in proportion to the increase of the set spinning velocity.
- the waveforms of the graphs when the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 is set to a value other than 240 rpm Evaluation Experiment 2 were approximately equal to the waveform of the graph when the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 was set to 240 rpm. That is, as the set spinning velocity changes, the average spinning velocity of the wafer W changed within the range of +180 degrees/min to ⁇ 180 degrees/min so as to obtain the set spinning velocity, and as a result, the average spinning velocity of the wafer W increased in proportion to the increase of the set spinning velocity.
- the variation in the average spinning velocities of the five wafers W on the rotary table 2 was also approximately zero as was the case when the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 was set to 240 rpm.
- a film formation apparatus includes a spinning shaft provided on a member rotating together with a rotary table to be capable of spinning so as to support a mounting table on which a substrate is placed, a driven gear provided on the rotary shaft, a driving gear configured to rotate facing a revolution orbit of the driven gear and provided along the entire circumference of the revolution orbit so as to configure a magnetic gear mechanism with the driven gear, and a relative-distance-changing mechanism configured to change a relative distance between the revolution orbit of the driven gear and the driving gear.
Abstract
Description
- This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-244303, filed on Dec. 20, 2017, in the Japan Patent Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
- The present disclosure relates to a technique for performing a film formation processing of a substrate while causing the substrate placed on one surface side of a rotary table to revolve.
- In a semiconductor device manufacturing process, Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), for example, is performed in order to form various films for forming an etching mask or the like on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as a “wafer”) which is a circular substrate. In order to enhance the productivity of semiconductor devices, in some cases, the ALD may be performed by an apparatus that rotates a rotary table, on which a plurality of wafers are placed, so as to revolve each wafer such that each wafer repeatedly passes through processing gas supply regions disposed to follow the diametric direction of the rotary table.
- In a film formation processing in which a wafer is revolved in order to form a wiring pattern with high in-plane uniformity of the wafer, it is required to increase the uniformity of a film thickness in the circumferential direction of the wafer. However, in a film formation apparatus in which the wafer is revolved, since a processing gas is supplied along the diametric direction of the rotary table, the film thickness distribution of a film formed on the wafer tends to vary from the center side of the rotary table toward the peripheral side of the rotary table.
- Thus, research has been conducted on how to rotate a wafer mounting table such that the wafer spins while the wafer is revolved by the rotary table, thereby making the film uniform in the circumferential direction of the wafer. For example, there has been known an apparatus in which the wafer mounting table is connected to a magnetic gear, which is a circular member in which N poles and S poles of magnets are alternately arranged in the circumferential direction. In this apparatus, a large number of electromagnets are arranged along the moving path of the magnetic gear which moves due to the rotation of a rotary table, and by controlling supply and cut of current to each electromagnet, the magnetic gear rotates in a contactless manner. Thus, it is possible to cause the wafer to spin while suppressing generation of particles.
- Research has been conducted to configure an apparatus which does not use the electromagnets in order to suppress the influence on the wafer processing due to heat generation. The apparatus includes a magnetic gear mechanism including a driven gear composed of a permanent magnet connected to the mounting table and a driving gear composed of a permanent magnet facing the revolution orbit of the driven gear such that a wafer is caused to spin by the action of a magnetic force between the driving gear and the driven gear. Since an example of this apparatus will be described in detail in the embodiments of the present disclosure, a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.
- However, the magnetic force of the permanent magnets cannot be freely changed, and the permanent magnets are demagnetized depending on an ambient temperature. Therefore, there is a concern that the spinning state of the wafer may be affected by the processing temperature of the wafer. In addition, when a strong magnetic force is constantly applied between the driven gear and the driving gear, the load on each part supporting the driven gear is increased by the magnetic force.
- The present disclosure has been made under these circumstances, and an aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a technique for ensuring that, in performing film formation by supplying a film formation gas to a substrate which is placed on a rotary table to revolve, the substrate is reliably spun, and for suppressing a load applied to each part of the apparatus by a mechanism for performing the spinning.
- According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a film formation apparatus including: a rotary table provided in a processing container; a mounting table configured to mount a substrate on one surface of the rotary table and revolved by rotation of the rotary table; a heating part configured to heat the substrate mounted on the mounting table; a film formation gas supply part configured to supply a film formation gas to a region through which the mounting table passes by the rotation of the rotary table so as to form a film on the substrate; a spinning shaft rotatably provided on a portion rotating together with the rotary table so as to support the mounting table; a driven gear provided on the spinning shaft; a driving gear configured to rotate while facing a revolution orbit of the driven gear and provided along an entire circumference of the revolution orbit so as to constitute a magnetic gear mechanism with the driven gear, and a relative-distance-changing mechanism configured to change a relative distance between the revolution orbit of the driven gear and the driving gear.
- The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.
-
FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a film formation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. -
FIG. 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the film formation apparatus. -
FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a rotary table provided in the film formation apparatus. -
FIG. 4 is a bottom view schematically illustrating a driven gear provided on a lower surface of a mounting table. -
FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating a part of a driven gear and a driving gear. -
FIG. 6 is a plan view schematically illustrating a driven gear and a driving gear. -
FIG. 7 is a plan view schematically illustrating a driven gear and a driving gear. -
FIG. 8 is a characteristic diagram illustrating a relationship between a velocity difference between an angular velocity of a driven gear and an angular velocity of a driving gear and a spinning velocity of the driven gear. -
FIG. 9 is an explanatory illustrating raising and lowering of a driving gear. -
FIG. 10 is a configuration view illustrating an example of a controller provided in a film formation apparatus. -
FIG. 11 is an explanatory view illustrating an operation of the film formation apparatus. -
FIG. 12 is a graph representing a result of an evaluation experiment. -
FIG. 13 is a graph representing a result of an evaluation experiment. -
FIG. 14 is a graph representing a result of an evaluation experiment. -
FIG. 15 is a graph representing a result of an evaluation experiment. - Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, systems, and components have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the various embodiments.
- A
film formation apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to a vertical cross-sectional view ofFIG. 1 and a horizontal cross-sectional view ofFIG. 2 . Thefilm formation apparatus 1 is configured to perform ALD in which a raw material gas containing silicon (Si) and an oxidizing gas are sequentially and repeatedly supplied to a wafer W placed on a rotary table (described later) to be revolved, so that the raw material gas and the oxidizing gas react with each other to form a silicon oxide (SiO2) film. - The
film formation apparatus 1 includes avacuum container 11 which is a flat processing container having a substantially circular shape in a plan view. Thevacuum container 11 includes acontainer body 13 forming a side wall and a bottom portion of the container, and aceiling plate 12. In the drawings,reference numeral 2 denotes the above-mentioned rotary table provided in thevacuum container 11. The rotary table is formed in a horizontal disk shape. Arotary shaft 21 extending vertically downward is connected to the central portion of the rotary table 2. Therotary shaft 21 passes through abearing part 22 provided in abottom portion 14 of thecontainer body 13 and is connected to a revolutionrotary mechanism 23 provided outside thevacuum container 11. By the revolutionrotary mechanism 23, the rotary table 2 is rotated, for example, clockwise in a plan view. - The
bottom portion 14 of thecontainer body 13 is provided with anannular slit 24, when viewed in a plan view, which penetrates thebottom portion 14 in the thickness direction thereof so as to surround therotary shaft 21. Aspace formation portion 15, which is annular in a plan view and has a recess shape in a vertical cross section, is provided below thebottom portion 14, and the space in the recess part is partitioned from the outside of thevacuum container 11 and is evacuated byexhaust ports 36 and 37 (described later) during a film formation processing so as to be in a vacuum atmosphere. When the space is used as a driven-gear-movingspace 16, a horizontal-supportingannular plate 25 is provided in the driven-gear-movingspace 16 to be close to thebottom portion 14 of thecontainer body 13. Further, the bottom portion of thespace formation portion 15 is constituted by an annular horizontal plate, and this plate is used as apartition plate 17. Thepartition plate 17 forming a partition member is made of a material that passes magnetic force lines formed between the drivengear 4 and the driving gear 5 (described later), for example, aluminum or SUS (stainless steel). The thickness H1 of thepartition plate 17 is, for example, 5 mm or less, more specifically, for example, 3 mm or less. In the drawings,reference numeral 18 denotes a coolant flow path provided in the side wall of thespace formation portion 15 and thebottom portion 14. - Subsequently, a description will be made with reference to
FIG. 3 which is a schematic perspective view of the structure of the rotary table 2 and each part included in the rotary table 2. Fivespokes 26 extend from the upper end portion of the above-described bearingpart 22 radially in a plan view, and the rotary table 2 is supported by thespokes 26. Thespokes 26 are made of, for example, Inconel (registered trademark), which is an alloy, so as to have high strength and high heat resistance. The distal end portions of thespokes 26 are bent so as to face theslit 24 in thecontainer body 13 downwards, and are connected to the upper surface of the supportingannular plate 25. Therefore, the supportingannular plate 25 is supported on therotary shaft 21 by thespokes 26. - On the upper surface side (one surface side) of the rotary table 2, there is provided a mounting table 3, which is circular in a plan view and is revolved by the rotation of the rotary table 2. In this example, five mounting tables 3 are provided in the rotation direction of the rotary table 2. On the upper surface of each mounting table 3, a
recess part 31 for accommodating and holding a wafer W horizontally is formed. - In the central portion of the lower surface side of each mounting table 3, a spinning
shaft 32 supporting the mounting table 3 is provided so as to extend vertically downwards. Each spinningshaft 32 passes through the supportingannular plate 25 and also passes through one of five bearing units 33 (only four are illustrated inFIG. 3 ) provided to be supported on the lower surface of the supportingannular plate 25. The position where the spinningshaft 32 passes through the supportingannular plate 25 is between thespokes 26 adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction of the supportingannular plate 25. That is, on the supportingannular plate 25, the spinningshafts 32 and thespokes 26 are alternately arranged. Each bearingunit 33 is provided with a bearing surrounding the spinningshaft 32 so as to rotatably support the spinningshaft 32 and a magnetic seal configure to prevent scattering of particles from the bearing. With such a configuration, the spinningshaft 32 is provided to be capable of spinning on a portion rotating together with the rotary table 2. The spinningshaft 32 is supported by the bearingunit 33, and the bearingunit 33 is supported with respect to therotary shaft 21 via the supportingannular plate 25 and thespoke 26. - A horizontal disk-shaped driven
gear 4 is provided on the lower end portion of each spinningshaft 32 in the state in which the central axis thereof is aligned with the spinningshaft 32. Therefore, the drivengear 4 is connected to the mounting table 3 via the spinningshaft 32, and the drivengear 4 is revolved around therotary shaft 21 of the rotary table 2 in the horizontal direction by the rotation of the rotary table 2. Further, when the drivengear 4 is rotated in the circumferential direction, each mounting table 3 spins about the spinningshaft 32. The distance H2 between the drivengear 4 and thepartition plate 17 illustrated inFIG. 1 is 1 mm, for example. -
FIG. 4 schematically illustrates the lower surface side of the driven gears 4. On the lower side of each drivengear 4, a large number of permanent magnets are buried over the entire circumference in the rotation direction of the drivengear 4. Here, the description, “the permanent magnets are provided over the entire circumference” means that the region where the permanent magnets are provided is not a partial region when viewed in the rotation direction. Therefore, even if there is a gap between the permanent magnets adjacent in the rotation direction, the permanent magnets are provided over the entire circumference, and in this example, such a gap is provided. - When the magnetic poles of the permanent magnets provided in the driven
gear 4 areN pole parts 41 andS pole parts 42, theN pole parts 41 and theS pole parts 42 are alternately disposed in the spinning direction (rotation direction) when the drivengear 4 is viewed from the lower surface side. TheN pole parts 41 are indicated by hatching in the drawings so as to distinguish the N pole parts from theS pole parts 42. In this example, theN pole parts 41 and theS pole parts 42 exposed on the lower surface of the drivengear 4 are each formed in the same rectangular shape, and are formed so as to radially extend horizontally from the central portion of the lower surface of the drivengear 4. For example, eighteen pole parts are arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction. The lengths of theN pole parts 41 and theS pole parts 42 are set to be, for example, shorter than the radius of the drivengear 4 so as not to exceed the center of the bottom surface of the drivengear 4. In order to suppress demagnetization under a high-temperature environment, the permanent magnets constituting the drivengear 4 and the permanent magnets constituting thedriving gear 5, which will be described later, are made of, for example, samarium cobalt magnets. - As illustrated in
FIG. 1 andFIG. 3 , thedriving gear 5 is disposed outside the vacuum container 11 (on the atmospheric atmosphere side) and below thespace formation portion 15. Thisdriving gear 5 constitutes amagnetic gear mechanism 40 with the driven gears 4. Thedriving gear 5 is a horizontal annular plate formed along the entire circumference of the revolution orbit of the drivengears 4, and is provided so as to face the revolution orbit. Accordingly, the upper surface of thedriving gear 5 faces the lower surfaces of the driven gears 4. - In the drawings,
reference numeral 50 denotes a circular opening formed in the central portion of thedriving gear 5, and the center of theopening 50 coincides with the rotation center of the rotary table 2 in a plan view. As illustrated inFIG. 1 , on the lower surface of thedriving gear 5, a spinningrotary mechanism 53 including, for example, an annular Direct Driving motor (DD motor) for rotating thedriving gear 5 is disposed so as to surround therotary shaft 21 and thedriving gear 5 is rotated about the center of theopening 50 by the spinningrotary mechanism 53. Accordingly, thedriving gear 5 rotates in the state of facing the revolution orbit of the driven gears 4. The spinningrotary mechanism 53 is provided on alifting base 54, which is circular in a plan view and surrounds the rotating shaft, and the liftingbase 54 is raised and lowered by a driving-gear-liftingmechanism 55. In the drawings,reference numeral 56 denotes a horizontal floor plate, on which the driving-gear-liftingmechanism 55 is provided, and has anopening 57 through which therotary shaft 21 passes. - The
driving gear 5 will be described in more detail. Permanent magnets are buried in the upper part of thedriving gear 5 over the entire circumference of thedriving gear 5 so as to face the outer peripheral edge portion of the revolution orbit of the driven gears 4. Here again, the description “the permanent magnets are provided over the entire circumference” means that the area where the permanent magnets are provided when viewed in the rotation direction of thedriving gear 5 is not a partial region, and does not mean that the permanent magnets are provided in the rotation direction without a gap therebetween. In this example, such a gap is provided between permanent magnets adjacent to each other in the rotation direction. When the magnetic poles of the permanent magnets provided in thedriving gear 5 areN pole parts 51 andS pole parts 52, theN pole parts 51 and theS pole parts 52 are alternately disposed in the rotation direction of thedriving gear 5 when thedriving gear 5 is viewed from the upper side. InFIG. 3 andFIG. 5 to be described later, theN pole parts 51 are also hatched in the drawings like theN pole parts 41 of thedriving gear 5. -
FIG. 5 illustrates the magnetic pole parts (theN pole parts 41 and the S pole parts 42) of one drivengear 4 and the magnetic pole parts (theN pole parts 51 and the S pole parts 52) of thedriving gear 5 provided below the drivengear 4, which are associated with each other. For example, theN pole parts 51 and theS pole parts 52 are formed in a rectangular shape so as to overlap the shape of theN pole parts 41 and theS pole parts 42 formed on the lower surface of the drivengear 4.FIG. 5 illustrates the state in which theN pole parts 41 of the drivengear 4 and theS pole parts 52 of thedriving gear 5 overlap each other. SinceFIG. 5 andFIGS. 6 and 7 to be described later are schematic views for explaining the configuration of the magnetic gear, the number of the magnetic pole parts is different from the number of the magnetic pole parts in an actual device. - Next, the revolution and spinning of the mounting tables 3 will be described.
FIG. 6 illustrates the state in which a part of five drivengears 4 is stopped facing thedriving gear 5 in the state in which each of the rotary table 2 and thedriving gear 5 is stopped (in the state in which they are not rotating). Each drivengear 4 is stopped at a position determined by the total action of the attractive force and the repulsive force between the respective magnetic pole parts (theN pole parts 41 and the S pole parts 42) of the drivengear 4 and the respective magnetic pole parts (theN pole parts 51 and the S pole parts 52) of thedriving gear 5. Therefore, when the rotary table 2 and thedriving gear 5 are rotated at the same number of revolutions (rotation velocity: rpm), since the drivengear 4 is stopped relative to thedriving gear 5, the drivengear 4, i.e. the mounting table 3 is stopped without spinning. - When a difference in the rotation velocity occurs between the driving
gear 5 and the rotary table 2, that is, when a velocity difference occurs between the angular velocity of thedriving gear 5 and the angular velocity of the driven gear 4 (so-called revolution angular velocity) resulting from the rotation of the rotary table 2, the mounting table 3 spins. When the angular velocity Va of thedriving gear 5 is larger than the angular velocity Vb of the driven gear 4 (when the velocity difference obtained by subtracting the angular velocity of the drivengear 4 from the angular velocity of thedriving gear 5 is positive), the arrangement of theN pole parts 51 and theS pole parts 52 of thedriving gear 5 moves from the left side to the right side in FIG. 5 below the arrangement of theN pole parts 41 and theS pole parts 42 of the drivengear 4, which faces thedriving gear 5. Therefore, the repulsive force and the attractive force from thedriving gear 5 acting on the drivengear 4 move to the right side, and thus the arrangement of theN pole parts 41 and theS pole parts 42 of the drivengear 4 is also drawn to the right side. As a result, the drivengear 4 spins rightward inFIG. 5 , that is, in the clockwise direction from the state illustrated inFIG. 6 to the state illustrated inFIG. 7 . InFIG. 6 , the ring-shaped revolution orbital of the driven gears 4 is indicated by 4A. - When the angular velocity Va of the
driving gear 5 is smaller than the angular velocity Vb of the driven gear 4 (when the velocity difference obtained by subtracting the angular velocity of the drivengear 4 from the angular velocity of thedriving gear 5 is negative), the arrangement of theN pole parts 51 and theS pole parts 52 of thedriving gear 5 moves from the right side to the left side inFIG. 5 below the arrangement of theN pole parts 41 and theS pole parts 42 of the drivengear 4, which faces thedriving gear 5. Therefore, the repulsive force and the attractive force from thedriving gear 5 acting on the drivengear 4 move to the left side, and as a result, the arrangement of theN pole parts 41 and theS pole parts 42 of the drivengear 4 is also drawn to the left side. As a result, the drivengear 4 spins leftward inFIG. 5 , that is, in the counterclockwise direction. - The velocity difference between the angular velocity resulting from the revolution of the driven
gear 4 and the angular velocity of thedriving gear 5 and the spinning velocity of the drivengear 4 maintain a substantially proportional relationship in a certain range in which a velocity difference is present as illustrated inFIG. 8 . InFIG. 8 , the horizontal axis represents a velocity difference (Va−Vb) between the angular velocity Va of thedriving gear 5 and the angular velocity Vb resulting from the revolution of the drivengear 4, and the vertical axis represents a spinning velocity of the drivengear 4. When the velocity difference is positive ((Va−Vb)>0), the rightward spinning velocity increases as the velocity difference increases from 0 to +V1. When the velocity difference is negative ((Va−Vb)<0), the leftward spinning velocity increases as the velocity difference increases from 0 to −V2. For example, the angular velocity of thedriving gear 5 is set up to a value at which the velocity difference and the spinning velocity of the drivengear 4 maintain a substantially proportional relationship. - As described above, the mounting table 3 spins when there is a difference in the number of rotations between the driving
gear 5 and the rotary table 2. The spinning velocity at this time is obtained by multiplying a difference in the rotation velocity by the gear ratio between the drivinggear 5 and the drivengear 4. The rotation velocity difference is a velocity difference between the angular velocity of thedriving gear 5 and the angular velocity of the driven gear 4 (so-called revolution angular velocity) resulting from the rotation of the rotary table 2. In the case where thedriving gear 5 is constituted by 300 magnetic pole parts (N pole parts 51 and S pole parts 52) and the drivengear 4 is constituted by 18 magnetic pole parts (N pole parts 41 and S pole parts 42), when the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 is 30 rpm, the spinning velocity when advancing thedriving gear 5 by 0.1 degrees/second (6 degrees/minute) is obtained as follows. Since the gear ratio is 300/18=16.67 and the rotation velocity difference is 6/360 rpm, the spinning velocity of the drivengear 4 is 300/18×6/360=0.278 rpm (100 degrees/min) based on the gear ratio×the rotation velocity difference. - The relationship between the spinning velocity of the driven
gear 4 and the velocity difference between the angular velocity (revolution velocity) resulting from the revolution of the drivengear 4 and the angular velocity of thedriving gear 5 as illustrated inFIG. 8 is stored in the memory of thecontroller 100. When performing the maintenance of, for example, a film formation processing or apparatus, the user of thefilm formation apparatus 1 inputs the spinning velocity of the drivengear 4 and the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 from theinput part 104 of thecontroller 100, and based on the input parameters and the above-mentioned relationships stored in the memory, the number of revolutions of thedriving gear 5 is determined, and thedriving gear 5 can be rotated at the determined number of rotations. - The
driving gear 5 is raised and lowered by the driving-gear-liftingmechanism 55, which is a relative-distance-changing mechanism, as illustrated inFIG. 9 . Thus, it is possible to perform a processing on a wafer W by changing a separation distance H3 between the drivinggear 5 and the revolution orbit of the drivengear 4. The separation distance H3 is changed within a range of 1 mm to 5 mm, for example. The reason for configuring the apparatus such that the separation distance H3 can be changed in this manner will be described. As described above, the drivengear 4 and thedriving gear 5 are constituted by permanent magnets, and the permanent magnets are demagnetized depending on the ambient temperature. Therefore, the drivengear 4 can spin at, for example, about a room temperature without any problem by the rotation of thedriving gear 5 as described with reference toFIG. 7 . However, when the processing temperature of the wafer W is set to be relatively high and thus the ambient temperature of the drivengear 4 and thedriving gear 5 becomes relatively high, there is a possibility that the drivengear 4 will not spin due to the demagnetization. In addition, as the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2, that is, the revolution velocity of the spinningshaft 32 becomes higher, the centrifugal force applied to the spinningshaft 32 becomes larger, and the spinningshaft 32 presses a portion of the bearing forming an inner peripheral wall of the bearingunit 33 which is outermost in a radial direction from the center of the rotary table 2, whereby the load applied to the portion is increased. That is, the minimum necessary torque for rotating the spinningshaft 32 varies depending on the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2. - Thus, it may be conceivable to make the magnetic force between the driven
gear 4 and thedriving gear 5 relatively strong so as to obtain the torque necessary for spinning even when the rotation velocity of the rotary table 2 is high. However, when a strong magnetic force is constantly applied between the drivengear 4 and thedriving gear 5, since the magnetic pole parts (theN pole parts 51 and the S pole parts 52) of thedriving gear 5 are provided to face the peripheral edge portion side of the revolution orbit of the drivengear 4, the spinningshaft 32 presses the portion of the bearing of the bearingunit 33 that is outermost in a radial direction from the center of the rotary table 2 due to the action of the magnetic force, and thus the load on this portion is increased. In addition, as the spinningshaft 32 and the mounting table 3 are strongly drawn downwards by the magnetic force, the load on the rotary table 2 increases and the load on therotary shaft 21 increases. That is, there is a possibility that the time when the rotary table 2, therotary shaft 21, and the bearingunit 33 are damaged may become earlier. Therefore, in thefilm formation apparatus 1, by adjusting the separation distance H3, the magnetic force between the drivinggear 5 and the drivengear 4 can be made necessary and appropriate. - Returning to
FIG. 1 andFIG. 2 , the description of thefilm formation apparatus 1 will be continued. Reference numeral C in the drawings denotes a central region formation part having a circular shape in a plan view and is provided in the central portion of the lower surface of theceiling plate 12 of thevacuum container 11. In the drawings,reference numeral 34 denotes protruding portions having a fan shape in a plan view and formed to be widened from the central region formation part C toward the outer side of the rotary table 2. Two protruding portions are provided to be spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction of the rotary table 2. The central region formation part C and the protrudingportion 34 form a ceiling surface that is lower than the outer region thereof. By supplying N2 gas from a supply path (not illustrated) to gaps of the central region formation part C and the central portion of the rotary table 2, the contact between the raw material gas and the oxidizing gas in the central portion of the rotary table 2 is suppressed. - A
heater 35 is buried in thebottom portion 14 of thecontainer body 13 to heat the waferW. Exhaust ports bottom portion 14, and are connected to a vacuum exhaust mechanism (not illustrated) constituted with a vacuum pump or the like. Further, a loading/unloadingpart 39 of a wafer W, which can be opened and closed by agate valve 38, is formed, in the side wall surface of thevacuum container 11, and a substrate is transported into and out of thevacuum container 11 by a transport mechanism (not illustrated) via the loading/unloadingpart 39. - Three lifting pins 20 are provided in the
bottom portion 14 of thevacuum container 11 in the vicinity of the loading/unloadingpart 39 in order to deliver the wafer W between the transport mechanism of the wafer W and the mounting table 3. However,FIG. 1 illustrates only two liftingpins 20 for convenience. Although not illustrated, a through hole is formed in the bottom portion of the mounting table 3 so that the lifting pins 20 pass through the through holes so as to deliver the wafer W. The lower ends of the lifting pins 20 are configured not to interfere with, for example, thedriving gear 5, which is raised, lowered, and rotated, and are supported by anarm 27, which can be raised and lowered by thelifting mechanism 28.Reference numeral 29 in the drawings denotes a bellows that surrounds the lifting pins 20 and serves to maintain airtightness in thevacuum container 11. - Above the rotary table 2, a raw
material gas nozzle 61, aseparation gas nozzle 62, an oxidizinggas nozzle 63, a modifyinggas nozzle 64, and aseparation gas nozzle 65 are arranged in this order to be spaced apart from each other in the rotation direction of the rotary table 2. Each of thegas nozzles 61 to 65 is formed in a rod shape that extends horizontally in the radial direction of the rotary table 2 toward the central portion from the side wall of thevacuum container 11, and discharges various gases downwards from a plurality of discharge holes 66 formed to be spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction thereof. - The raw
material gas nozzle 61 discharges BisTertial ButylAmino Silane (BTBAS) gas as a raw material gas.Reference numeral 67 in the drawings denotes a nozzle cover that covers the rawmaterial gas nozzle 61, in which the nozzle cover serves to increase the concentration of the BTBAS gas in the region below the nozzle cover. The oxidizinggas nozzle 63 discharges ozone (O3) gas as an oxidizing gas. Theseparation gas nozzles portions 34 of theceiling plate 12 in the circumferential direction in a plan view. The modifyinggas nozzle 64 discharges a modifying gas composed of, for example, a mixed gas of argon (Ar) gas and oxygen (O2) gas. In this example, the raw material gas, the oxidizing gas, and the modifying gas correspond to processing gases, respectively, and the rawmaterial gas nozzle 61, the oxidizinggas nozzle 63, and the modifyinggas nozzle 64 correspond to processing gas supply parts, respectively. - A
plasma formation part 7 is provided above the modifyinggas nozzle 64 so as to close anopening 19 provided in theceiling plate 12 of thevacuum container 11.FIG. 2 illustrates a position where theplasma formation part 7 is installed by a one-dot chain line. In the drawing,reference numeral 71 denotes a main body made of a dielectric material such as quartz, andreference numeral 72 in the drawing denotes a protrusion, which protrudes downward along theopening 19 on the lower surface of the main body 71 (seeFIG. 1 ). The modifying gas is ejected from the modifyinggas nozzle 64 into the region surrounded by theprotrusion 72. Anantenna 75, in which a metal wire is wound in a coil shape, is provided on the upper surface side of themain body 71 with aFaraday shield 73 and an insulatingplate member 74 being interposed therebetween, and a high-frequency power source 76 is connected to theantenna 75.Reference numeral 77 in the drawing denotes a slit provided in theFaraday shield 73, in which the slit serves to direct the magnetic field components of the electromagnetic field downwards. - On the rotary table 2, the region below the raw
material gas nozzle 61 is an adsorption region R1 where BTBAS gas is adsorbed, and the region below the oxidizinggas nozzle 63 is an oxidizing region R2 where BTBAS gas is oxidized. In addition, the region below theplasma formation part 7 is a modifying region R3 where a SiO2 film is modified by plasma. The regions below the protrudingportions 34 are separation regions D1 and D2 for separating the atmosphere of the adsorption region R1 and the atmosphere of the oxidizing region R2 from each other by N2 gas ejected from each of theseparation gas nozzles - The
exhaust port 36 is opened to the outside between the adsorption region R1 and the separation region D1 adjacent to the downstream side of the adsorption region R1 in the rotation direction in order to exhaust excessive BTBAS gas. Theexhaust port 37 is opened to the outside in the vicinity of the boundary between the modifying region R3 and the separation region D2 adjacent to the downstream side of the adsorption region R3 in the rotation direction in order to exhaust excessive O3 gas and the modifying gas. From theexhaust ports - The
film formation apparatus 1 is provided with acontroller 100 constituted with a computer so as to perform control of the operations of the entire apparatus.FIG. 10 illustrates the schematic configuration of thecontroller 100. Thecontroller 100 includes aCPU 101, aprogram storage part 102 that stores aprogram 105 that executes an operation related to a film formation processing to be described later, astorage part 103, and aninput part 104.Reference numeral 110 in the drawing denotes a bus. - The
storage part 103 stores the correspondence of the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2, the processing temperature of a wafer W, and the separation distance H3 between the drivinggear 5 and the drivengear 4. Theinput part 104 is a device for inputting and setting the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 and the processing temperature of the wafer W at the time of film formation processing as a processing recipe of thefilm formation apparatus 1 by the user of thefilm formation apparatus 1. Theinput part 104 is constituted with, for example, a touch panel. The separation distance H3 corresponding to the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 and the processing temperature of the wafer W input as described above is read out from thestorage part 103 and the height of thedriving gear 5 is controlled by the driving-gear-liftingmechanism 55 to be the read-out separation distance H3. Then, the film formation processing is performed. - In the case where the processing temperature of the wafer W is constant, as the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 increases, a higher torque is required for causing the mounting table 3 to spin for the reason described above. Accordingly, the separation distance H3 is set to be smaller. For example,
FIG. 10 represents the separation distance H3 values in the cases where the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 is 60 rpm, 70 rpm, and 80 rpm and the temperature of the wafer W is a1 degrees C., as b1 mm, c1 mm, and d1 mm, respectively, in which b1>c1>d1. In addition, in the case where the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 is constant, as the temperature of the wafer W is higher, demagnetization of thedriving gear 5 and the drivengear 4 is likely to occur as described above, and thus the separation distance H3 is set to be smaller. For example,FIG. 10 represents the separation distance H3 values when the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 is 60 rpm and the temperature of the wafer W is a1 degree C., a2 degrees C., and a3 degrees C., as b1 mm, c1 mm, and d1 mm, respectively, in which a1 degree C.<a2 degree C.<a3 degree C. and b1>c1>d1. - The
program 105 transmits a control signal to each part of thefilm formation apparatus 1 to control the operation of each part, and includes a group of steps for executing a film formation processing to be described later. For example, the number of revolutions of thedriving gear 5 by the spinningrotary mechanism 53, the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 by therevolution rotary mechanism 23, the raising and lowering of thedriving gear 5 by the driving-gear-liftingmechanism 55, the supply flow rate of each gas from each of thegas nozzles 61 to 65, the processing temperature (heating temperature) of the wafer W by theheater 35, the supply flow rate of N2 gas from the central region formation part C, and the like are controlled according to the control signal. Theprogram storage part 102 that stores theprogram 105 is configured by a storage medium such as a hard disk, a compact disk, a magneto-optical disk, a memory card, or a DVD, and theprogram 105 is installed in thecontroller 100 from the storage medium. - Subsequently, a film formation process performed by the
film formation apparatus 1 will be described. When the user of thefilm formation apparatus 1 sets the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 and the processing temperature of the wafer W from theinput part 104 in the state in which thedriving gear 5 is positioned at a predetermined height position, thedriving gear 5 is moved to a height position where it becomes the separation distance H3 corresponding to the set number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 and the processing temperature of the wafer W as described above with reference toFIGS. 9 and 10 . Subsequently, by the intermittent rotation of the rotary table 2 and the rising and lowering operation of the lifting pins 20, wafers W sequentially loaded from the outside into thevacuum container 11 by a transport mechanism (not illustrated) are delivered to the mounting tables 3. When the wafers W are placed on all the mounting tables 3, thegate valve 38 is closed, and the interior of thevacuum container 11 is evacuated from theexhaust ports separation gas nozzles heater 35 rises and the wafers W are heated so as to reach the set processing temperature. - Then, the rotary table 2 rotates at the set number of revolutions and, for example, the
driving gear 5 is rotated at the same velocity as the rotary table 2. As a result, the mounting table 3 revolves in the state in which the spinning thereof is stopped. Next, the supply of respective gases from the rawmaterial gas nozzle 61, the oxidizinggas nozzle 63, and the modifyinggas nozzle 64, and the formation of plasma by application of high-frequency waves to theantenna 75 from the high-frequency power source 76 are initiated. Further, the number of revolutions of thedriving gear 5 is changed to be different from the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2, and the mounting table 3 spins at a predetermined number of revolutions. - As illustrated in
FIG. 2 , since a separation region D1, to which N2 gas is supplied, is formed between the adsorption region R1 and the oxidizing region R2 in thevacuum container 11, the raw material gas supplied to the adsorption region R1, the oxidizing gas supplied to the oxidizing region R2 are exhausted without being mixed with each other on the rotary table 2. In addition, since a separation region D2, to which N2 gas is supplied, is also formed between the adsorption region R1 and the modifying region R3, the raw material gas, the modifying gas supplied to the modifying region, and the oxidizing gas directed to the separation region D2 from the upstream side in the rotation direction of the modifying region R3 are exhausted from theexhaust ports exhaust ports - Each wafer W passes through the adsorption region R1, the oxidizing region R2, and the modifying region R3 sequentially in the state where supply and exhaust of the respective gases are performed as described above. In the adsorption region R1, the BTBAS gas ejected from the raw
material gas nozzle 61 is adsorbed to the wafers W, and in the oxidizing region R2, the adsorbed BTBAS gas is oxidized by O3 gas) supplied from the oxidizinggas nozzle 63 such that one or more molecular layers of SiO2 are formed. In the modifying region R3, the molecular layer of SiO2 is modified by being exposed to the plasma of the modifying gas. By the rotation of the rotary table 2, the above-described cycles are repeatedly executed a plurality of times, whereby the molecular layers of SiO2 are laminated, and a SiO2 film is formed on the surfaces of the wafers W.FIG. 11 illustrates the operation of each part of thefilm formation apparatus 1 when film formation is performed in this way. - In this
film formation apparatus 1, in parallel to the rotation of the rotary tables 2, the spinning of wafers W is performed by rotation of the mounting tables 3. In order to ensure that the rotation of the rotary table 2 and the rotation of the mounting tables 3 are not synchronized, the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 and the spinning velocity of the mounting tables 3 are set. That is, the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 and the spinning velocity of the mounting tables 3 are set such that, when the rotary table 2 is rotated once from a rotation start point in which each wafer W is oriented in a first direction, to be positioned again at the rotation start point, wafer W is oriented in a second direction different from the first direction. - As described above, since each mounting table 3 spins without being synchronized with the rotation of the rotary table 2, the wafer W on each mounting table 3 passes through the adsorption region R1 of the raw material gas in various directions by spinning and revolution thereof. In this way, with the spinning of the mounting tables 3, a cycle of forming the above-mentioned molecular layer of SiO2 is executed while gradually changing the direction in a plan view. Even when the concentration distribution of the raw material gas varies, for example, in the adsorption region R1, the amount of the raw material gas adsorbed on the wafer W can be made uniform in the circumferential direction of the wafer W when viewed in the entire period in which a SiO2 molecular layer formation cycle is performed a plurality of times by performing the film formation while changing the direction of the wafer W. As a result, it is possible to suppress the deviation of film thickness of a SiO2 film formed on each wafer W when viewed in the circumferential direction of the wafer W.
- When molecular layers of SiO2 are sequentially laminated in this way and a preset number of cycles is performed, rotation of the rotary table 2, rotation of the
driving gear 5, supply of various gases, formation of plasma are stopped and the film formation processing is ended. Thereafter, the wafers W are unloaded from thevacuum container 11 in a procedure reverse to that when the wafers W are loaded into thevacuum container 11. - With the
film formation apparatus 1 described above, the separation distance H3 between the drivengears 4 and thedriving gear 5 is adjusted by the driving-gear-liftingmechanism 55, and the magnetic force between the drivinggear 5 and the driven gears 4 is adjusted. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a strong magnetic force from constantly acting between the drivinggear 5 and the drivengears 4 so as to suppress the load from being applied to each component in the rotary table 2, therotary shaft 21, etc., whereby it is possible to secure the magnetic force required for each mounting table 3 to spin during the film formation processing while suppressing consumption, deformation, and breakage of each component. - In the
film formation apparatus 1, the separation distance H3 is changed by raising and lowering thedriving gear 5 with respect to the drivengears 4 and the unit for revolving the driven gears 4. However, the separation distance H3 may be changed by raising and lowering the drivengears 4 with respect to thedriving gear 5. Specifically, for example, by connecting therevolution rotary mechanism 23 to the lifting mechanism such that the rotary table 2 and thevacuum container 11 are raised and lowered, the drivengears 4 can be raised and lowered with respect to thedriving gear 5. - In the above example, the correspondence relationship of the processing temperature of the wafers W, the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2, and the separation distance H3 is stored in the
storage part 103 of thecontroller 100, but any one of the correspondence relationship between the processing temperature of the wafers W and the separation distance H3, and the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 and the separation distance H3 may be stored. That is, the user of thefilm formation apparatus 1 may set one of the processing temperature of the wafers W and the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2, thereby setting the separation distance H3. It is not limited to changing the separation distance H3 according to the processing recipe. For example, when the above-described film formation processing is in the standby state without being performed, thedriving gear 5 is positioned at a height position where the separation distance H3 becomes relatively large, and when the film formation processing is performed, thedriving gear 5 may be positioned at a preset height position where the separation distance H3 is relatively small. That is, the case where the height of thedriving gear 5 is uniform during respective film formation processings is also included in the scope of the present disclosure. However, in order to more reliably rotate the drivengears 4 and to suppress the load on each part of thefilm formation apparatus 1, it is preferable to control the height of thedriving gear 5 according to the processing recipe as described above. - As described above, in the
film formation apparatus 1, the revolution and spinning are performed in parallel with each other during film formation on the wafers W. The spinning of the wafers W includes intermittent spinning of the wafers W in addition to the continuous spinning of the wafer W during the rotation of the rotary table 2. In addition, the timing of the start and stop of the spinning of the wafers W may be matched to the timing of the start and stop of revolution of the wafers W, and the timing of the start and stop between the spinning and revolution of the wafers W may be deviated. Although thedriving gear 5 is provided in the ambient atmosphere in the examples described above, it may be provided in a vacuum atmosphere similarly to the drivengears 4 by configuring thevacuum container 11 to surround thedriving gear 5. - On the other hand, as the
magnetic gear mechanism 40 including thedriving gear 5 and the drivengears 4, the drivengears 4 may be configured to rotate in a contactless manner with respect to thedriving gear 5 by the rotation of thedriving gear 5 by the magnetic force. Accordingly, only one of the drivengears 4 and thedriving gear 5 may be a magnetic body. In addition, the drivengears 4 or thedriving gear 5 is not limited to the configuration in which the N pole parts and the S pole parts are alternately arranged, but may be constituted by only one of the S pole parts and the N pole parts. However, it is desirable to dispose different magnetic poles alternately in the drivengears 4 and thedriving gear 5 as in the above-described embodiments since the mounting tables 3 are rotated using the repulsive force and the attractive force of the magnets, so that the mounting tables 3 can be reliably rotated. Further, as long as the drivengears 4 can be rotated by the rotation of thedriving gear 5, the shape of each magnetic pole part is not limited to the rectangular shape as in the example described above. - (Evaluation Experiment)
- Evaluation experiments, which were performed in connection with the present disclosure, will be described. In
Evaluation Experiment 1, using an experimental apparatus having substantially the same configuration as that of thefilm formation apparatus 1, the average of the spinning velocities of respective wafers W placed on the rotary table 2 was investigated in the case where the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 and the number of revolutions of thedriving gear 5 were changed. In this experimental apparatus, the thickness H1 of thepartition plate 17 described inFIG. 1 was set to 3 mm, the distance H2 between thepartition plate 17 and the lower surface of the drivengears 4 was set to 1 mm, and the distance between thepartition plate 17 and the upper surface of thedriving gear 5 was set to 1 mm. Therefore, in this experimental apparatus, the separation distance H3 between the drivinggear 5 and the revolution orbit of the drivengears 4 described with reference toFIG. 9 was 5 mm. The rotary table 2 was rotated at 30 rpm, 60 rpm, or 120 rpm. In addition, the number of revolutions of thedriving gear 5 was changed such that the difference between the number of revolutions of thedriving gear 5 and the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 converged within the range of −0.8 degrees/second to +0.8 degrees/second. - The graphs of
FIGS. 12, 13, and 14 are graphs representing the experiment results when the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 is 30 rpm, 60 rpm, and 120 rpm, respectively. In each graph, the horizontal axis represents the number of revolutions (unit: rpm) of thedriving gear 5, and the vertical axis represents the average spinning velocity (unit: degrees/minute) of wafers W. In each graph, only results for one wafer W among five wafers W on the rotary table 2 are represented. This is because the variation of the average spinning velocity of the five wafers W was substantially zero. As represented in each graph, it was confirmed that the average spinning velocity of wafers W increases in proportion to the increase in the number of revolutions of thedriving gear 5 regardless of whether the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 is 30 rpm, 60 rpm, or 120 rpm. The negative average spinning velocity and the positive average spinning velocity means that the wafers W spin in opposite directions. - From the results of this
Evaluation Experiment 1, it was confirmed that in the range where the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 is 120 rpm or less, it is possible to control the spinning velocity and spinning direction of wafers W regardless of the revolution velocity of wafers W by the rotary table 2. In addition, it was confirmed that a magnetic force acts between the drivinggear 5 and the drivengears 4 so as to be capable of rotating the drivengears 4 even when the driven gears and the driving gear are partitioned by thepartition plate 17. According to the present disclosure, since thedriving gear 5 is raised and lowered, so that the magnetic force between the drivengears 4 and thedriving gear 5 can be adjusted. Accordingly, it is estimated that wafers W can be rotated at a desired number of revolutions even if the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 is higher than 120 rpm. - Next,
Evaluation Experiment 2 will be described. InEvaluation Experiment 2, as inEvaluation Experiment 1, the average spinning velocities of respective wafers W placed on the rotary table 2 were measured in the case where the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 and the number of revolutions of thedriving gear 5 were changed. However, as a difference, the separation distance H3 (seeFIG. 9 ) between the drivinggear 5 and the revolution orbit of the drivengears 4 was set to 9 mm. Thedriving gear 5 was rotated such that the spinning velocity set for each wafer W (set spinning velocity) becomes +5 rpm to −5 rpm. The number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 was set to 240 rpm, 210 rpm, 180 rpm, 150 rpm, 120 rpm, 90 rpm, 60 rpm, 30 rpm, and 2 rpm. - Among the obtained experimental results, the results obtained when the rotary table 2 was rotated at 240 rpm are represented in the graph of
FIG. 15 as a representative. The vertical axis of the graph ofFIG. 15 represents the average spinning velocity (unit: degrees/minute) of a wafer W similarly to the vertical axis of each of the graphs ofFIGS. 12 to 14 . The horizontal axis of the graph ofFIG. 15 represents the set average spinning velocity of the wafer W described above. In the graph ofFIG. 15 , since the variation of the average spinning velocity of five wafers W on the rotary table 2 was substantially zero similarly to the results ofEvaluation Experiment 1, only the result for one wafer W is illustrated. As apparent from the graph ofFIG. 15 , the average spinning velocity of the wafer W is a value within the range of +180 degrees/min to −180 degrees/min depending on the set spinning velocity, and the average spinning velocity of the wafer W increases in proportion to the increase of the set spinning velocity. - Although not illustrated, the waveforms of the graphs when the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 is set to a value other than 240
rpm Evaluation Experiment 2 were approximately equal to the waveform of the graph when the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 was set to 240 rpm. That is, as the set spinning velocity changes, the average spinning velocity of the wafer W changed within the range of +180 degrees/min to −180 degrees/min so as to obtain the set spinning velocity, and as a result, the average spinning velocity of the wafer W increased in proportion to the increase of the set spinning velocity. The variation in the average spinning velocities of the five wafers W on the rotary table 2 was also approximately zero as was the case when the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 was set to 240 rpm. - Therefore, from the results of this
Evaluation Test 2, it was confirmed that in the range where the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 is 240 rpm or less, the spinning velocities are aligned between wafers W, and thus it is possible to control the spinning velocity and spinning direction of the wafers W. In other words, it was confirmed that it is possible to operate the above-describedfilm formation apparatus 1 by setting the number of revolutions of the rotary table 2 within the above-mentioned range. Further, it was confirmed that it is possible to set the spinning velocity of the wafers W to +5 rpm to −5 rpm. - According to the present disclosure, a film formation apparatus includes a spinning shaft provided on a member rotating together with a rotary table to be capable of spinning so as to support a mounting table on which a substrate is placed, a driven gear provided on the rotary shaft, a driving gear configured to rotate facing a revolution orbit of the driven gear and provided along the entire circumference of the revolution orbit so as to configure a magnetic gear mechanism with the driven gear, and a relative-distance-changing mechanism configured to change a relative distance between the revolution orbit of the driven gear and the driving gear. Thus, it possible to make a magnetic force acting between the driven gear and the driving gear during the film formation processing necessary for performing spinning of a substrate, and to prevent the magnetic force from becoming strong constantly, thereby suppressing a burden from being applied to each part of the apparatus.
- While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosures. Indeed, the embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the disclosures. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosures.
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US20180195173A1 (en) * | 2017-01-11 | 2018-07-12 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Substrate Processing Apparatus |
US11422008B2 (en) * | 2018-10-11 | 2022-08-23 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Rotation angle detection apparatus and rotation angle detection method, and substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method using same |
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WO2007069433A1 (en) * | 2005-12-16 | 2007-06-21 | Niigata University | Noncontact rotating processor |
JP6017817B2 (en) * | 2011-12-15 | 2016-11-02 | 住友化学株式会社 | Surface treatment apparatus, surface treatment method, substrate support mechanism, and program |
JP6330623B2 (en) * | 2014-10-31 | 2018-05-30 | 東京エレクトロン株式会社 | Film forming apparatus, film forming method, and storage medium |
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